A study from the Cloud Security Alliance found that organizations continue to move to the public cloud, but security concerns still linger around data leakage and unauthorized networks.
Around 700 security professionals surveyed said that 90 percent have a presence in the public cloud, but 81 percent are concerned about security issues when moving to the cloud – the top concern of respondents. The top security challenge professionals identified was the risk of sensitive data leaking from the cloud, with unauthorized access and lateral movement into more sensitive areas of the network as other major concerns.
“Security in the public cloud remains a shared responsibility of providers and end users. To ensure adequate management of security, providers must continue to implement secure default configurations for their customers and alert customers systematically and reliably when these configurations are altered. Meanwhile, when organizations adopt cloud services, it will likely be necessary to acquire tools and staff to manage security properly in these new environments,” the study states.
The survey also found a divergence in concerns while moving to the cloud compared to concerns managing the cloud. Only a third noted expertise as a consideration while moving to the cloud, but 73 percent rated it as a moderate or high challenge.
While regulatory compliance is often seen as a major obstacle to Federal adoption of cloud, compliance issues are a challenge for organizations of all types, as 57 percent reported concerns about regulations and moving to the cloud. Even after moving to the cloud, 76 percent of respondents said that preparing for audits was a challenges for them.